8-11-04

Children
killed before fire

A
victim is taken from the house Monday. "We are now considering these
deaths as potential homicides and the fire as suspicious," said Capt.
Glenn Williams of the York County Sheriff's Office.

ROCK
HILL
- At some
point after 11:30
p.m. Sunday, investigators
say either the father or the mother of Jairo, Denise and Denia Meza used a knife
to slash their throats.

No
screams were heard by neighbors. The children's bodies were carefully laid out
on two beds in the master bedroom. A combustible liquid was splashed around
the room and ignited.

This
is what investigators say happened at 4053
Crestview Drive late
Sunday or early Monday, based on physical evidence and more than a dozen interviews
with neighbors, friends and family members.

Neighbors
were awakened by a 3
a.m. "commotion
followed by a bang, like soft thunder," which was probably a buildup of
heat that blew out the front window. A pilot light to a hot water heater may
have also caused a small explosion.

Authorities
said the children's parents -- Denis Meza, 39, and Marbely Meza, 30 -- died
from smoke inhalation and burns in the fire. Their bodies were found on the
floor in the bedroom with the children. No one had attempted to flee the fire
zone. Marbely Meza had knife wounds that could have incapacitated her, but authorities
are not yet able to tell which parent killed the children.

Because
the bodies were so badly burned, as of late Tuesday, only one person had been
positively identified -- Denis Meza, through his fingerprints. York
County
authorities had taken
his prints earlier this summer when he was charged with sexually abusing his
14-year-old daughter, Denia, since she was 10. He was to appear in court Monday.

"There's
no two ways about it: These little children were murdered, and that's a terrible
crime," said York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant. "We further believe
that the murderer died in the fire."

Bryant
said evidence was still being processed and it was too early to determine exactly
what happened.

"At
this point we have no reason to believe it is not the Meza family; everything
seems to point in that direction, but with the bodies so badly burned you just
can't say until they can complete the DNA tests or dental records," Bryant
said. "What we have is five dead people. Is it a straight murder or a murder-suicide?
We just can't say at this point."

York
County Coroner Doug McKown confirmed the children -- believed to be Jairo, 5;
Denise, 8; and Denia, 14 -- died from "massive blood loss from having their
throats cut." A knife stained with a dark substance was found near their
bodies. He said the woman had a knife slash on her wrist, which could be a "defensive
wound."

McKown
said it would be several days before DNA tests would be completed to positively
identify the other four bodies.

The
Meza family is from Nicaragua
; they have lived
in the Charlotte
area since the early '90s. Friends say Denis Meza, a heavy-set landscaper, underwent
a transformation in recent years -- one that is at odds with his behavior in
recent weeks.

Noradino
Montes, a friend of the family who lives in Rock
Hill , said he found
out about the deaths Monday night afte r
r eturning from Mexico
.

He
said Meza had changed since they met about 12 years ago. Back then, Meza wasn't
religious, Montes said. He would drink a little and occasionally curse.

In
the mid '90s, Meza took a trip to Nicaragua
and came back with
his wife and oldest daughter.

The
family was involved in a Spanish-speaking congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses,
friends said. Montes said the Mezas hosted Bible studies in their former Fort
Mill
home on Thursdays.

Montes
said Meza worked weekdays and gave all his free time to the church.

Montes
said he didn't know Meza's wife well. He said he had visited the couple in their
Rock Hill
home only twice, but "every time I saw them they were kind to each other."

A
representative with the Spanish-language Rock Hill Congregation Salon Del Reino,
a denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses, said Tuesday that the church did not
wish to comment on the Meza family now.

Marbely
Meza spoke little English and apparently did not work outside of the home.

Friends
say she was a devoted mother. Three times a week, she would take her children
to buy cheese and tortillas at the Tortilleria Linda Lupita on Mount
Gallant Road in Rock
Hill , said owner
P hyllis
Cristo.

Cristo
said she didn't know the wife and daughter well enough to say much more than,
"Hi, how are you?" though sometimes Denia would talk about Nicaragua
.

"She
was a lovely lady and the daughter was adorable," Cristo said. "Never
would I have guessed that they were suffering .... It breaks my heart."

A
14-year-old girl who was murdered before her house burned Monday had been raped
in the past week, investigators said Wednesday.

York
County coroner Doug McKown confirmed Wednesday that Denia Meza
had injuries consistent with a recent sexual assault.

"We're
narrowing down the

ti
mel ine, but it appears the assault took place within several days of her death,"
said McKown.

He
said additional tests were being conducted to determine if a DNA sample was
present that could be linked to her attacker.

Also
Wednesday, the bodies of Denia and Denise, 8, were positively identified through
dental records. Investigators are still working to identify the bodies of an
adult female, believed to be the mother, Marbely Meza , 30,
and her 5-year-old son, Jairo.

The
children died after their throats were slashed early Sunday or late Monday at
4053 Crestview Drive . Investigators say the father, Jose Denis Meza
, 39, and the adult female died of smoke inhalation.

Denia's
father had been charged July 16 with sexually abusing his daughter. The court
had ordered him to have no contact with his daughter. However, neighbors say
he continued to visit the house at 4053 Crestview Drive , including Sunday around
10:30 a.m. His truck was found in the driveway the morning after the fire.

The
S.C. Department of Social Services first reported the abuse allegation to the
sheriff's department May 3 after receiving a tip.

DSS
general counsel Virginia Williamson said Wednesday that she couldn't say how
many times a caseworker had visited the family since May, or whether the children
had received physical screenings for abuse or psychological counseling.

"That
picture isn't clearly put together yet for me," she said.

Williamson
said a department investigator would interview county DSS staff and law enforcement
about the case. An internal committee will review the findings.

Investigators
are still trying to determine which of the two adults slashed the children's
throats at the rental home just south of Lake Wylie .

The
female adult had a knife cut on her wrist that could have been a defensive wound,
McKown said. Denia Meza also had wounds that could be termed
"defensive." McKown said the two other children had no other wounds
and were not sexually assaulted.

The
children, dressed in street clothes, appear to have been placed in two beds
in the master bedroom. The adults were found on the floor in the same room.
None of the victims was bound, and neither of the adults was attempting to escape
the fire at the time of their deaths.

Investigators
say they cannot rule out either of the adults as the murderer.

"What
we can say is we believe the killer also died in the fire," said Capt.
Glenn Williams of the York County Sheriff's Department.

When
asked what evidence supports the theory that one of the parents killed the children,
Williams replied, "I can't go into that evidence right now, but let's just
say we do not believe the public's safety is at risk. There is no killer on
the loose."

The
five-member Meza family died early Monday. The three children,
Jairo, 5; Denise, 8; and Denia, 14, died after having their throats slashed
before their home was destroyed by fire. The parents died from smoke inhalation
and burns in the fire at 4053 Crestview Drive . Marbely Meza ,
30, had a cut on her wrist that may have been a defensive knife wound. Investigators
are awaiting toxicological test results they hope will point to the killer.

York
County Coroner Doug McKown said Friday that one of the tests will determine
if any member of the Meza family was under the influence of
any drugs or alcohol.

"We
don't have any indication that any members of the family were incapacitated
prior to their deaths," McKown said. "But it's something we're looking
into, particularly with these children whose throats were cut."

Another
test will determine if DNA evidence shows the identity of the person who raped
Denia within five days of her death.

Sheriff's
deputies arrested Denis Meza , 39, on July 16 on charges of
sexually molesting Denia. He was ordered to move out of the house and was scheduled
to appear in court Monday.

McKown
also said Friday that the bodies of Marbely Meza and the children
had been turned over to Greene Funeral Home in Rock Hill , but the father's
body was still being held for someone to claim him. Greene officials said they're
awaiting word from Marbely Meza's brother, Ariel Zeledon,
on whether the four will be buried in Rock Hill or returned to Central America
. Marbely's mother said Thursday that she plans to bring the family home to
Matagalpa , Nicaragua , to be buried in a family cemetery plot.

In
the Nicaraguan newspaper, Denis Meza's mother said he couldn't
have committed the crime because he was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses
church.

Teodolinda
Meza added that she had been able to speak to her son only
twice in the nine years he had been in the States because she doesn't have a
phone.

She
is asking the Nicaraguan government to bring back her son's body, because she
doesn't have $1,500 for the trip and other expenses.

Zeledon
family members said Orfa Molinares Munguia had left Managua on Friday morning
for the United States and was expected to land late Friday but was experiencing
flight delays getting to Charlotte because of Hurricane Charley in Florida .
She expects to stay in Rock Hill for about a month, family members say.

Some
family members of Marbely Meza in Nicaragua on Friday said
they're not ready to blame Denis Meza .

Let
the investigators determine who's at fault, said her father, Rosenberg Castillo
Raiytes, 42, from his home in Matagalpa , Nicaragua .

Raiytes
said Denis Meza was a good person.

"Well-mannered,
hard worker and very honest," he said. "I don't have anything against
Denis or Teodolinda (his mother)."

She
approached Teodolinda Meza after the incident and told her,
"Do you realize what your son did. He killed my daughter and my grandchildren!"
according to one newspaper.

When
Raiytes was told about the deaths earlier this week, he contacted Teodolinda
Meza .

"She
was stricken and very sad," Raiytes said. "We didn't talk much because
she was very traumatized."

Alicia
Herrera Rivas, a close friend of Teodolinda Meza , who lives
in Matagalpa, said Meza was hurt after hearing the news.

Her
son was popular back home - he was a Sandinista fighter for five years and was
even sent to Cuba for military training, Rivas said. After the war, he worked
two years as an administrator with the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security
and Well-Being.

WHERE
WERE WE?
A SEXUALLY ABUSED TEEN CRIED OUT FOR HELP. SHE WANTED SAFETY. NOW, SHE'S DEAD.
I'VE HEARD HEAVEN HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE
FOR A SLAIN CHILD. I PRAY THERE IS A FIERY, ETERNAL RING OF HELL FOR THE ADULT
KILLER.

Caption: 1. LAYNE BAILEY - STAFF PHOTO . Denia Meza
shares a moment with her little brother Jayro in this charred family
photograph. ; 2. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ZELEDON FAMILY . Denia Meza
swings at age 5 in Nicaragua . 3. Denia in a photo charred from the house fire

Today,
14-year-old Denia Meza should be chatting with her girlfriends,
twisting her hair and making her way to math class at Rawlinson Road Middle
School .

But
she's being "laid to rest" alongside her killer in a family burial
plot in Rock Hill .

Officials
will say only that one of her parents killed her. They're withholding judgment
about who is responsible until all the lab results are in.

What
they do know is this: Her father, Jose Denis Meza , was arrested
on charges of sexually abusing her; he died seven days before he was to appear
in court; Denia was raped within five days of her death, perhaps the same night;
Denis had no defensive wounds on his body; and Denia and her mother, Marbely,
both had knife wounds on their arms, which could be defensive.

Eleven
days ago about 10 a.m., I stood by Denia's back yard fence and watched a coroner's
team remove her tiny body from her blackened home - filling one of the five
body bags carefully laid out like flags in the back yard between the trampoline
and swing set.

The
Meza children - Jayro, 5; Denise, 8; and Denia - had their
throats slashed and died before the fire. Marbely and Denis Meza
died of smoke inhalation and burns. For some people, the end of the Meza
family tragedy will be when the gravedigger tamps down the last shovel
full of red dirt over these five humps of earth.

No
one will ever stand trial for the deaths of these children, and their story
will soon disappear from the headlines. I'd like to think it's not because they're
a low-income Hispanic family with little roots in our community and their deaths
are mostly being written off as "some kind of sick, domestic squabble."

This
was the largest apparent murder-suicide that anyone can remember in York County
. Yet, where is the outrage for the deaths of these innocent children?

Who
is demanding justice for these kids? Where is the minister from the Meza
family's church? Where are the elected officials demanding some agency
be held accountable for how this volatile case was handled?

Responsibility
for this tragedy extends beyond the convenient whipping boy of the chronically
understaffed Department of Social Services, which is alternately criticized
for acting too quickly in removing children from their biological parents and
placing them in foster homes, and when they don't.

Maybe
the agency had good reasons for not removing Denia and her siblings from this
household, after allegations of sexual abuse first surfaced three months ago.
Perhaps, some day, DSS will make that information public.

Granted,
it's practically impossible for anyone to have predicted the white-hot violence
that engulfed the Meza household the night of Aug. 8.

We
prefer not to think about it.

Even
family members like Lou dan ia Pao:

"I
try not think too much about what happened in Marbely's house before it was
set on fire," she said.

"It's
just too much badness to fit in your mind at one time.... when I think of Denia
and what she must have been going through, I have to stop myself."

But
the warning signs were plentiful.

This
young girl, according to a Sheriff's incident report, had been sexually abused
by her father as early as age 10. Denia and her mother moved here from Nicaragua
a decade ago, and her mother spoke little English. Marbely Meza
had few job skills and appeared to be entirely dependent on her husband to support
their growing family. Marbely's mother, her closest family and her friends said
she told them nothing about the abuse allegations.

Nor
did they know that Denis had been forced to move out of the home. In May, this
child who in the past year had shorn her hip-long hair to mark her passage into
adolescence - or a signal of something darker - gathered her courage and told
someone.

That
person notified DSS and, in turn, the Sheriff's Office.

Two
months later, Denis Meza was arrested.

He
was ordered to move out of the house and have no contact with Denia.

Denia
had done the right thing - an unspeakable evil had entered her bedroom and like
a good girl, she'd told the authorities.

Her
mistake was putting her trust in adults who would not or could not keep her
safe.

The
evil returned.

Neighbors
say the former Sandinista fighter came back to his home after moving out, sometimes
meeting his wife in the parking lot of a nearby fish camp, sometimes entering
the house.

The
adults who knew about the abuse say they had to keep it confidential to protect
the family.

The
adults closest to Denia - the ones who could have really protected her from
further assaults - never knew of the abuse allegations.

Her
Uncle Ariel, who helped raise Denia and considered her one of his own, might
have saved her.

But
he was never told.

The
neighbors, who saw Denis come and go at the house after his arrest, were never
told.

When
a child like Denia is threatened in our community, we need to all come to her
aid - church, school, DSS, the media, law enforcement, neighbors and family.

Denia's
mistake was not in speaking out, but in believing that her community would protect
her.

She
then suffered the ultimate form of abuse - her own death.

As
a community, we followed Standard Operating Procedure: we filed the paperwork,
arrested the father and ordered him out of the house until the trial - "Next
case."

We
did everything but the follow-up that could have kept this child alive.

The
authorities will determine who killed Denia, but we don't need a DNA test to
know who is responsible for her death.

*

Call
Dan Huntley with story ideas at (803) 327-8508 or e-mail dhuntley@charlotteobserver.com
.

The
funeral

The
funeral of the five-member Meza family will be held today
at 2 p.m. at Greene Funeral Home Northwest Chapel at 2133 Ebenezer Road in Rock
Hill , with burial to follow at Forest Hills Cemetery .

Now,
she's dead. Where were we? I've heard heaven holds a special place for a slain
child.

I
pray there is a fiery, eternal ring of hell for the adult killer.

Today,
14-year-old Denia Meza should be chatting with her girlfriends, twisting her
hair and making her way to math class at Rawlinson
Road
Middle
School .

But
she's being "laid to rest" alongside her killer in a family burial
plot in Rock Hill
.

Officials
will say only that one of her parents killed her. They're withholding judgment
about who is responsible until all the lab results are in.

What
they do know is this: Her father, Jose Denis Meza, was arrested on charges of
sexually abusing her; he died seven days before he was to appear in court; Denia
was raped within five days of her death, perhaps the same night; Denis had no
defensive wounds on his body; and Denia and her mother, Marbely, both had knife
wounds on their arms, which could be defensive.

Eleven
days ago about 10 a.m., I stood by Denia's backyard fence and watched a coroner's
team remove her tiny body from her blackened home -- filling one of the five
body bags carefully laid out like flags in the back yard between the trampoline
and swing set.

The
Meza children -- Jayro, 5; Denise, 8; and Denia -- had their throats slashed
and died before the fire. Marbely and Denis Meza died of smoke inhalation and
burns. For some people, the end of the Meza family tragedy will be when the
gravedigger tamps down the last shovel full of red dirt over these five humps
of earth.

No
one will ever stand trial for the deaths of these children, and their story
will soon disappear from the headlines. I'd like to think it's not because they're
a low-income Hispanic family with little roots in our community and their deaths
are mostly being written off as "some kind of sick, domestic squabble."

This
was the largest apparent murder-suicide that anyone can remember in York
County
. Yet, where is the
outrage for the deaths of these innocent children?

Who
is demanding justice for these kids? Where is the minister from the Meza family's
church? Where are the elected officials demanding some agency be held accountable
for how this volatile case was handled?

Responsibility
for this tragedy extends beyond the convenient whipping boy of the chronically
understaffed Department of Social Services, which is alternately criticized
for acting too quickly in removing children from their biological parents and
placing them in foster homes, and when they don't.

Maybe
the agency had good reasons for not removing Denia and her siblings from this
household, after allegations of sexual abuse first surfaced three months ago.
Perhaps, some day, DSS will make that information public.

Granted,
it's practically impossible for anyone to have predicted the white-hot violence
that engulfed the Meza household the night of Aug. 8.

We
prefer not to think about it.

Even
family members like Lou dan
ia Pao:

"I
try not think too much about what happened in Marbely's house before it was
set on fire," she said.

"It's
just too much badness to fit in your mind at one time.... when I think of Denia
and what she must have been going through, I have to stop myself."

But
the warning signs were plentiful.

This
young girl, according to a Sheriff's incident report, had been sexually abused
by her father as early as age 10. Denia and her mother moved here from Nicaragua
a decade ago, and
her mother spoke little English. Marbely Meza had few job skills and appeared
to be entirely dependent on her husband to support their growing family. Marbely's
mother, her closest family and her friends said she told them nothing about
the abuse allegations.

Nor
did they know that Denis had been forced to move out of the home. In May, this
child who in the past year had shorn her hip-long hair to mark her passage into
adolescence -- or a signal of something darker -- gathered her courage and told
someone.

That
person notified DSS and, in turn, the Sheriff's Office.

Two
months later, Denis Meza was arrested.

He
was ordered to move out of the house and have no contact with Denia.

Denia
had done the right thing -- an unspeakable evil had entered her bedroom and
like a good girl, she'd told the authorities.

Her
mistake was putting her trust in adults who would not or could not keep her
safe.

The
evil returned.

Neighbors
say the former Sandinista fighter came back to his home after moving out, sometimes
meeting his wife in the parking lot of a nearby fish camp, sometimes entering
the house.

The
adults who knew about the abuse say they had to keep it confidential to protect
the family.

The
adults closest to Denia -- the ones who could have really protected her from
further assaults -- never knew of the abuse allegations.

Her
Uncle Ariel, who helped raise Denia and considered her one of his own, might
have saved her.

But
he was never told.

The
neighbors, who saw Denis come and go at the house after his arrest, were never
told.

When
a child like Denia is threatened in our community, we need to all come to her
aid -- church, school, DSS, the media, law enforcement, neighbors and family.

Denia's
mistake was not in speaking out, but in believing that her community would protect
her.

She
then suffered the ultimate form of abuse -- her own death.

As
a community, we followed Standard Operating Procedure: we filed the paperwork,
arrested the father and ordered him out of the house until the trial -- "Next
case."

We
did everything but the follow-up that could have kept this child alive.

The
authorities will determine who killed Denia, but we don't need a DNA test to
know who is responsible for her death.

The
Funeral

The
funeral of the five-member Meza family will be held today at 2
p.m. at Greene Funeral
Home Northwest Chapel at 2133
Ebenezer Road in
Rock Hill ,
with burial to follow at Forest
Hills Cemetery
. DETAILS | Funeral
of the five-member Meza family today | 12B Dan

Every
week, she raved in her journal at school -- sometimes it was getting new clothes
or sometimes it was eating at a restaurant. For Denia, life in America
was filled with comforts
she never knew in her native Nicaragua
.

"Even
though I was her teacher, I learned many lessons from Denia," Denise Pagoota
said while giving the eulogy during Denia's funeral Friday. "She was like
any other teenager. ... She complained about school, she complained about homework.
But you could always count on her starting her diary with, `This was the best
weekend of my life.' "

Denia,
14, and her family were found dead Aug. 9 after a fire at their Rock
Hill home.

The
five family members were buried Friday in three caskets. Denia was buried with
her 8-year-old sister, Denise Meza. Beside them a second casket holds the bodies
of her mother, Marbely Meza, and 5-year-old brother, Jayro. On the other side
of Marbely is Denia's father, Jose Denis Meza, buried alone. The caskets holding
the bodies of the mother and children were adorned with floral arrangements.
Denis Meza's casket was bare.

Representatives
from both families agreed that they be buried together in a family plot and
where each casket would go.

"We
wanted to remember them as a family," Denis Meza's cousin, Santos Virgilio
Meza, said in Spanish through a translator. "They were a family."

Investigators
are still trying to determine what happened. They say the children died after
their throats were cut, and the parents died of smoke inhalation, but are still
waiting on tests that might indicate which of the parents killed the children.
Tests have shown that Denia was raped within five days of her death. Her father
was previously charged with molesting her.

About
50 people attended the family's funeral, which was held in English and Spanish.
Several of those attending were teachers or counselors. Some relatives were
unable to come from Nicaragua
to attend, family
members said.

Pagoota,
who was Denia's English as a second language teacher, said Denia was optimistic
about her life in America
, despite the prejudice
she said she experienced here. Pagoota challenged those attending to look at
their own prejudices and overcome them.

"At
one time, we were all immigrants to this country," she said. "While
some people are different, it's those differences that make us unique."

"Look
at the people who are here today," Pagoota said. "Today, language
and cultural differences don't matter."